Octagon City, Kansas

The original intent was to build a vegetarian commune on the south side of the Neosho River, but investor interest in a non-vegetarian moral community was much higher and the decision was made to build Octagon City on the north side of the Neosho River to make the entire project sustainable.

During May 1856, about 100 participating settlers arrived at the development site, expecting a blossoming town with grist mill and sawmill, but finding only one log cabin, one plow, and dozens of tents sheltering families.

The site was very remote, and the nearest source of goods was in Fort Scott, Kansas, about 50 miles (80 km) away, so residents were forced to adapt and improvise.

Mosquitoes, a flu-like epidemic ascribed to malnutrition, exhaustion, or malaria, the threat of Border Ruffians, and strong thunderstorms were a continuous problem.

Some residents chose to live at an Osage settlement a few miles away, which had a flowing spring, but they were forced to flee back to Octagon City upon learning that the tribe was about to return from its annual buffalo hunt.